


Paya Loves her Majesty

by Scarlet_Claws



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Drabble Collection, F/F, Fluff, Kissing, Love Confessions, Mutual Pining, Some Plot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-31
Updated: 2020-04-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 16:15:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 1,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22049965
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scarlet_Claws/pseuds/Scarlet_Claws
Summary: ... And her Majesty loves her back.Post-game centric drabble collection. Possibly canon divergent when BOTW 2 comes out. Marked complete but more might be added as I get more ideas.
Relationships: Paya/Zelda (Legend of Zelda)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 39





	1. Victorious I

**Author's Note:**

> Some of those have already been published in my other drabble collection, "To Hyrule and Back", but it ended up being more focused on Sidlink than Paya/Zelda. That's why I decided to delete the drabbles from that other collection and write some more so that I could make its own thing. There will be some semblance of plot in this, maybe, but it picks up right after the battle against Ganon.

Paya had just finished her evening prayers when she heard the sound of hooves behind her. Startled, she got to her feet quickly and turned around.

“Master Link?” she cried.

The hero of Hyrule pulled his horse to a halt and nodded at her as a salutation, but Paya barely noticed him. Right behind him, seated on a white horse, was the most gorgeous woman Paya had ever seen. Blond, green-eyed, her presence commanded attention to be directed to her.

Paya, transfixed, stood there with her mouth agape and her eyes wide as Zelda dismounted and headed inside, to Impa.


	2. Victorious II

This was the woman that had fought against Ganon for a hundred years; a living legend was drinking tea with her grandmother. Paya didn’t know what to do with herself except not spill anything as she served, a task that required all her concentration to complete.

“We don’t have much to offer,” Impa said, “but we would be honoured if you would stay with us as suitable living accommodations can be arranged.”

“The pleasure would be ours.”

Her voice! Paya’s heart throbbed pathetically.

“Excellent!” Impa laughed. “Then you can sleep with Paya tonight, in her room.”

Paya’s mind went blank.


	3. Victorious III

The only thing that was saving Paya’s sanity at the moment was their extra futon. She didn’t know what she would do if she was so share a bed with the Princess... the Queen? The old King was dead, so she must be the Queen.

She was sharing a room with the Queen! Tonight! This was even more daunting than the idea of sharing a room with Link, for some reason. She could barely focus as she prepared the room for Zelda. Her heart was beating fast and hard in her chest.

Paya didn’t know what was wrong with herself.


	4. Victorious IV

“Paya, was it?” Zelda asked. “I don’t believe we have spoken yet.”

Paya opened her mouth, closed it, opened it, but all she managed was a small nod.

“I hope you don’t mind that I sleep in your bed,” Zelda continued. “I never— Well, it’s the first time I sleep in the same room as someone.”

“I’m sorry.”

“What?”

“I’m sorry!” Paya turned red.

Zelda stared at her, then chuckled. This was the moment where the ice between them broke. Not that Paya knew it yet, but she would understand as they spoke into the night of many small things.


	5. Victorious V

“Well, Paya, it was a pleasure getting to know you,” said Zelda.

“Likewise, your Maje— Zelda. It was an honour...”

After having stayed a few days with the Sheika, Zelda was going back to the plains, where a team of Hylian had come from all over Hyrule to help with the restoration of the castle.

“I hope to see you again,” Paya said, getting a grip on her manners. “You will always be welcome here.”

“The pleasure would be mine.”

As Zelda rode away, Paya had to admit something to herself: she had a crush on the Queen of Hyrule.


	6. Girls Are a Mystery

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally published in "to Hyrule and Back", this is a repost.

Paya really was weird.

Link could get that she would be intimidated by him, he was a man – and, without wanting to brag, a warrior on top of it. Sheika culture was such that a reaction like hers was almost expected.

So why was it even worse when Zelda spoke to her? The poor girl couldn’t even get one sentence straight the second the Princess was in the room, and that was just _odd_.

Oh, and Zelda was weirdly adamant about visiting the Sheika clan every occasion she got, so there was that too. Girls were a mystery, Link concluded.


	7. Change of Heart I

Paya knew that the day would come where she would have to take up responsibility for her own clan. She had always dreaded carrying that responsibility all alone. As much as she loved the people of her village, it was a lot of lives that were in her hands.

But, since a few months, something else had brought light to her future, something unexpected. With the defeat of Ganon, there was the perspective of working towards the restoration of the kingdom of Hyrule, towards something great.

That meant that she would get to see Queen Zelda to her heart’s content.


	8. Change of Heart II

Zelda wasn’t someone that enjoyed cooperating with people. She was a strong spirit, that did things her own way and that seldom listened to others once she had determined the best course of action. This confidence were qualities she valued in a strong ruler and it would be hard for her to listen to someone else. Even Link had had to prove his worth.

However, there was someone among the envoys of the different people of Hyrule that she knew well, someone she looked forward to seeing every day.

Her name was Paya and she was of the Sheika Clan.


	9. The Emissairy I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This series of drabbles have previously been featured in the collection "To Hyrule and Back".

“It is an honour for me to welcome you here,” Zelda announced. She was very elegant in her blue dress, and her hair was tied up in a complex-looking braid. Link had rarely seen her this well dressed and he knew how much of a wreck she had been before.

All that to greet Paya, emissary of the Sheika clan? Maybe their alliance was a bigger deal than what he thought.

Paya looked lovely in her ceremonial kimono. Link didn’t believe he had ever seen her so pretty.

The whole thing struck him as odd, but he dismissed his intuition.


	10. The Emissairy II

It was unusually quiet at the table.

Link should have seen it coming. After all, the atmosphere always became a little strange when Zelda and Paya were in the same room. He didn’t really know _why_ it was so, he had just accepted it as a reality by now.

The way the two of them kept glancing at each other was really strange. They sort of reminded him of Sidon and him in the same situation, but _surely_ that was a bad comparison.

But then the roast beef was brought out and Link forgot all about it for a while.


	11. The Emissairy III

“Hey, Link, can I talk to you about something?”

Link turned around from where he was leaning on the railing of the castle’s balcony, looking out into the night. Zelda, dressed in her nightgown, looked a little embarrassed. Link nodded, curious about what she wanted to say.

“How do you... tell someone that you like them?” she asked.

He frowned. Zelda has someone she liked? Since when?

“Well, the situation is a bit peculiar... I guess that it’s a little more difficult than a usual confession. You know, with the politics between our two people.”

Link blinked, taken aback.

Oh.


	12. Confession I

Paya wasn’t the best rider, she feared falling. That was why she was glad when Zelda and her stopped in a beautiful meadow for a rest. She could sense that Zelda was up to something yet she still didn’t expect it when it happened.

“Paya,” Zelda said, bluntly, looking at her straight in the eyes, “I have invited you here to tell you that I love you.”

Paya wanted to answer, wanted to say “me too”, but she couldn’t speak, could say anything else but a breathless “oh” and stare at the Queen, her cheeks bright red, until Zelda laughed.


	13. Confession II

“Are you quite all right?” Zelda asked.

Paya nodded and pressed her hands to her cheeks, as if that would somehow make the heat recede. Zelda’s words burned her still, hurried her heartbeat so much it might combust, made her head spin. She couldn’t speak, could barely stand, but she had to answer somehow. Even if Zelda understood, Paya _needed_ to reply.

Eventually, out of ideas, she resorted to actions. In one go, so that she wouldn’t chicken out at the last moment, she stepped closer to Zelda and leaned down, kissing her on the lips with all her love.


	14. Hawking I

“A hunting trip?” Paya said.

“Yes.” Zelda smiled at her. “Would you do me the honour of joining me? I’ll be hawking.”

Paya barely heard her. She wanted to invite her together somewhere. They barely had the time to see each other, downing under work as they were. Paya imagined them alone together and knew her answer.

“Of course I’ll come!” she said. “It would be a great honour for me. To join you.”

“Perfect. I’ll tell Link, then.”

“Link?”

“Of course. Someone needs to protect us.”

It took all of Paya’s training to hide her disappointment behind a smile.


	15. Hawking II

Paya was not the most gifted rider. She was grateful that the hunting trip opted for a slow pace. It gave her the leisure to daydream about being alone with Zelda, talking about anything else than politics. Not once had they done something else since their mutual confession. 

Doubt, dark and poisonous, plagued her mind. What if kept her distance on purpose? What if Paya was not as worthy of love as Zelda had imagined? Those were the thoughts that kept Paya awake at night.

She did her best to hide her sulking as she followed the ruler of Hyrule.


	16. Hawking III

“Oh, Link, look!” suddenly said Zelda.

The royal hawk had suddenly dived down at something in the grass of Hyrule plain. She did not come back up.

“She must have caught something heavy,” said Zelda. “Would you go and look at it?”

Link nodded silently and pressed his horse into a trot, quickly leaving the two ladies behind.

The moment Zelda was sure he wouldn’t look, she turned to Paya, leaned over, and pressed a quick kiss to her lips. By the time Link turned around, brandishing a rabbit, it was as if nothing had happened.

Save Paya’s large smile.


End file.
